Man About Canton: Feb. 5 Preview

MAC recently received an interesting call from Dr. Nelson Batchelder, and with his permission, MAC shares his story. When the town demolished the old Elijah Morse mansion on Washington Street back in the 1950s to make way for the new Canton High School, Dr. Batchelder and Phil Nutt, the caretaker of the Morse Estate at the time, moved the lion statue across the street to where it is today. In the process of moving the lion from the back of a truck, a wooden tripod used to lower the statue came loose and hit the doctor in the head, requiring a quick trip to Norwood Hospital, where Dr. Thompson of Canton stitched up the doctor and told him to stay in bed for two weeks as he also had a concussion. Eventually, the lion, its legs still encased in cement, was placed in the front of the Morse Estate. So the next time you drive by the estate, now the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon, and look at the lion statue on the front lawn, give a salute to Dr. Batchelder, who, by the way, at the age of 88, is still the Canton school doctor — a position he has held for 52 years.

MAC would like to make a correction to a recent column that stated that the Canton High School Alumni Association is the only legitimate CHS 501(c)(3) nonprofit. A board member of the Class of 1976 contacted MAC to inform him that the Class of 76 is a very active organization which has a yearly golf tournament that raises scholarship money for the annual Spirit of 76 Scholarship Fund, and it is also a legitimate 501(c)(3). MAC apologizes for the error.

State Treasurer-elect Deb Goldberg recently named David Falcone of Canton, a public affairs professional and former top aide to Senate President Therese Murray, to serve as her chief of staff.

Canton pharmacist Glenn Adam Chin of the New England Compounding Center, which has been blamed for a 2012 deadly meningitis outbreak, has been charged with racketeering for allegedly causing or contributing to the deaths of patients who received tainted steroids manufactured by the company.

According to Banker & Tradesman, the AA Will Sand and Gravel Company and its 32 acres off Turnpike Street was sold to the Brightview Company for $4 million.

The Oxford Dictionary’s 2014 word of the year was “vape.” The word can be used as a noun meaning an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or similar device. It can also be used as a verb in which one would “inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device …